it is how they close the hive to predators, cold, etc. it is why you don't want to be popping your hive open in winter and breaking that seal.

Logged

.....The greatest changes occur in their country without their cooperation. They are not even aware of precisely what has taken place. They suspect it; they have heard of the event by chance. More than that, they are unconcerned with the fortunes of their village, the safety of their streets, the fate of their church and its vestry. They think that such things have nothing to do with them, that they belong to a powerful stranger called the government. They enjoy these goods as tenants, without a sense of ownership, and never give a thought to how they might be improved.....

"Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me . . . Anything can happen, child. Anything can be"

Yes, they glue stuff together. And they fill cracks and places that have no use.

But propolis is also antibacterial and probably has more health benefits than we realize. Maybe it's to deter mold growth. Maybe to keep microscopic bad things at bay. Maybe they chew on bits of it when feeling bad. ;) Could you imagine if bees only stuck it around in odd places so it would not interfer with wax comb, but yet had it readily available to eat, feed, and help with overall hive health.

Anyways, there is some interesting research being done on propolis. Seems that breeding bees for little propolis production for the past 50-100 years may be a bad thing for bees. It is there for a reason. And there could be many reasons.

If you take a unfinished piece of wood and make hive bodies with it, the bees will propolize the insides smooth with propolis. They do not like the rough cut lumber. And while we offer bees smooth woodenware most of the time, imagine the interior cavity of that rotten oak tree. I think they remove all they can of the spongy dead wood, and then propolize over the rest. I have seen the walls of feral colonies that have a very slick and shiny coating from propolis. We think that this raw wood in tree cavities would be good absorption for moisture, but bees may be doing the opposite in attempts to benefit from other unknown forces.

I do not look at propolis as a negative. I see it as a sign of hive health, and hope my bees are benefitting from their collection of the stuff.

Yes, they glue stuff together. And they fill cracks and places that have no use.

But propolis is also antibacterial and probably has more health benefits than we realize. Maybe it's to deter mold growth. Maybe to keep microscopic bad things at bay. Maybe they chew on bits of it when feeling bad. ;) Could you imagine if bees only stuck it around in odd places so it would not interfer with wax comb, but yet had it readily available to eat, feed, and help with overall hive health.

Anyways, there is some interesting research being done on propolis. Seems that breeding bees for little propolis production for the past 50-100 years may be a bad thing for bees. It is there for a reason. And there could be many reasons.

If you take a unfinished piece of wood and make hive bodies with it, the bees will propolize the insides smooth with propolis. They do not like the rough cut lumber. And while we offer bees smooth woodenware most of the time, imagine the interior cavity of that rotten oak tree. I think they remove all they can of the spongy dead wood, and then propolize over the rest. I have seen the walls of feral colonies that have a very slick and shiny coating from propolis. We think that this raw wood in tree cavities would be good absorption for moisture, but bees may be doing the opposite in attempts to benefit from other unknown forces.

I do not look at propolis as a negative. I see it as a sign of hive health, and hope my bees are benefitting from their collection of the stuff.

X2, I think it just what bees do and bees have a reason for what they do even if we have yet to understand why. It is when we try to coerce them into doing what is counter to what they want to do that we have problems. I figure work with them not against them.

Yes, they glue stuff together. And they fill cracks and places that have no use.

But propolis is also antibacterial and probably has more health benefits than we realize. Maybe it's to deter mold growth. Maybe to keep microscopic bad things at bay. Maybe they chew on bits of it when feeling bad. ;) Could you imagine if bees only stuck it around in odd places so it would not interfer with wax comb, but yet had it readily available to eat, feed, and help with overall hive health.

Anyways, there is some interesting research being done on propolis. Seems that breeding bees for little propolis production for the past 50-100 years may be a bad thing for bees. It is there for a reason. And there could be many reasons.

If you take a unfinished piece of wood and make hive bodies with it, the bees will propolize the insides smooth with propolis. They do not like the rough cut lumber. And while we offer bees smooth woodenware most of the time, imagine the interior cavity of that rotten oak tree. I think they remove all they can of the spongy dead wood, and then propolize over the rest. I have seen the walls of feral colonies that have a very slick and shiny coating from propolis. We think that this raw wood in tree cavities would be good absorption for moisture, but bees may be doing the opposite in attempts to benefit from other unknown forces.

I do not look at propolis as a negative. I see it as a sign of hive health, and hope my bees are benefitting from their collection of the stuff.

..................imagine the interior cavity of that rotten oak tree. I think they remove all they can of the spongy dead wood, and then propolize over the rest. I have seen the walls of feral colonies that have a very slick and shiny coating from propolis. We think that this raw wood in tree cavities would be good absorption for moisture, but bees may be doing the opposite in attempts to benefit from other unknown forces.

A thought just occured to me. Could it be that the propolizing of the interior of a natural tree cavity somehow stabilizes the size of the cavity by retarding further rot and decay. At the very least by locking down all the loose matter with a "coat of plaster" if you will. To further extrapolate by stabilizing the cavity and preventing further rot is it not good for the tree itself (assuming it is still living) making bees symbiotic to trees (win/win for both). Maybe this is where the anti bacterial properties of propolis developed. Just a thought that came to me.